H!" '  A  *>• 

r  4^P 

*w  T^W    „ 

H  ^  *7 

1  ^  7s 


God ! s   Voice   and    the   Lessons    It 
Tsr-chos:    n    ^erinorj   Prerched    on 
the   Occasion  of   the   Dssth   of 
Gsnere 1  Taylor 

'    By 

i  3 


AT    LOS  ANGELES 


ROBERT  ERNEST  COWAN 


" 

'.'.i  VMiirr.  unit  tlir  Imim  it  farljrs. 


A  SERMON., 


I 'UK  ACHED  ON  THE  OCCASION  OK  THE  DEATH 


(MINERAL  TAYLOK, 


uv  Tin: 


REV.  D.  MAGIE,  D.  D. 


DEDICATED      TO      HIS      PEOPLE. 

AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  SOME  OF  WHOM  TT  IS  NOW  PfRLISHF.]!,  SLIGHTLY  Cll 

AM)    ENI,AKi;i.:i>    --IMF.    ITS    \t\AA\  L II  \' . 


NEW-YORK : 
'I IN  F.  TROW,  PRINTER,  49,  51  &  53  ANN-STREET. 

I  CC.L. 


itt,  mift  tjp  ICwns  it  farjjm 


A  SERMON, 


PREACHED  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  DEATH 

OF 

GENERAL  TAYLOR, 

LATE     PRESIDENT     OF     THE     UNITED     STATES. 
BY    THE 

REV.  D.  MAGIE,  D.  D. 

DEDICATED      TO     HIS      PEOPLE. 

AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  SOME  OF  WHOM  IT  IS  NOW  PUBLISHED,  SLIGHTLY  CHANGED 
AND    ENLARGED   SINCE   ITS   DELIVERY. 


NEW-YORK : 
JOEIN  F.  TROW,  PRINTER,  49,  51  &  53  ANN-STREET. 

M.DCCC.L. 


SERMON. 


MICAH  vi.,  9. — The  Lord's  voice  crieth  unto  the  city,  and  the  man  of  wis- 
dom shall  see  thy  name ;  hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it. 

TRUE  patriotism,  scarcely  less  than  sound  piety,  will  lead 

us  to  mark  the  footsteps  of  the  Almighty  in  great  public 

events.     We  are  not  only  servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  but 

citizens  of  a  free  and  favored  land ;  and  as  such  are  bound  to 

take  a  lively  interest  in  whatever  concerns  the  common  wel- 

,  fare.     Any  thing  that  stirs  the  sensibilities  of  the  country,  and 

!  plunges  the  nation  into  grief,  may  well  be  made  the  theme  of 

.pulpit  inquiry  and  address. 

We  all  feel  that  it  would  be  criminal  to  suffer  so  instruc- 
j  tive  a  calamity  as  that  which  has  recently  befallen  us,  to  pass 
|  without  notice.     Our  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  honored  and 
:  revered  even  more  for  his  noble  personal  qualities  than  for  the 
|  high  military  and  civil  stations  he  held,  has  been  suddenly 
cut  off  from  the  land  of  the  living  and  laid  low  in  the  dust. 
While  office  was  still  new  to  him,  and  the  laurel  unfaded  on 
his  brow,  the  destroyer  came  to  do  his  allotted  work.     The 
country  is    in   tears,  and  the  speaker  but  falls  in  with  the 
sorrowful  emotions  of  a  whole  bereaved  people,  when  he  seeks 
to  turn  the  general  lamentation  into  a  useful  channel.     A  sub- 
ject is  assigned  us,  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  illustrate  and 
apply  it  as  best  we  can. 

God  himself  is  speaking,  and  it  becomes  us  all,  high  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  to  stand  in  awe,  and  keep  silence  before  him. 
His  voice  cries  to  the  metropolis  of  the  land,  and  through  that, 

304825 


as  a  common  centre,  sends  out  its  notes  of  warning  and  in- 
struction to  every  city,  town,  and  village,  in  our  widely  ex- 
tended Union.  And  we  shall  be  wanting  to  ourselves,  as  well 
as  wanting  in  respect  for  the  memory  of  a  great  man,  if  our 
ears  are  not  open  and  our  hearts  attentive. 

This  is  an  event  so  serious  in  its  nature,  and  so  far-reaching 
in  its  influence,  as  deeply  to  impress  every  thoughtful  mind. 
No  one  could  be  taken  from  a  position  so  elevated — the  in- 
cumbent of  an  office  in  comparison  with  which  titles  and 
crowns  are  but  gewgaws — without  making  a  breach ;  and, 
least  of  all,  could  such  a  man  as  Zachary  Taylor.  Well  may 
we  exclaim :  How  are  the  mighty  fallen !  and  how  is  the  glory 
of  the  land  perished  in  its  high  places !  It  would  argue  a  cri- 
minal disregard  to  the  operation  of  God's  hands,  not  to  pause 
and  reflect  on  so  unlooked-for  and  portentous  an  event.  "We 
must  not  be  so  stunned  and  confounded  by  the  blow,  as  to 
fail  to  inquire  into  the  reasons  for  its  having  been  inflicted. 

The  mere  political  aspects  of  this  affecting  providence  will 
be  left,  as  of  right  they  should  be,  to  other  lips  and  other  occa- 
sions. But  there  are  two  points  which  may  well  claim  atten- 
tion here :  Why  is  the  late  calamity  to  be  regarded  as  the  voice  of 
the  Lord?  and  what  are  some  of  the  lessons  it  seems  intended  to  en- 
force? These  topics  fall  within  the  legitimate  scope  of  the 
preacher,  and  it  will  be  his  effort  to  treat  them  in  a  way  befit- 
ting the  place  and  the  day. 

I.  Why  are  we  to  regard  the  visitation,  over  which  the  land 
mourns,  as  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ? 

That  the  Almighty  has  been  speaking,  and  speaking  with 
unusual  emphasis,  no  one  has  the  hardihood  to  deny. — • 
The  event  came  like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  a  cloudless  sky ; 
and  as  the  tidings  spread,  with  the  speed  of  the  lightning's 
flash,  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  it  seemed  like 
the  utterance  of  Deity  himself.  Senators  rose  in  their  place 
acknowledging  the  hand  of  God,  and  expressing  the  hope  that 
we  might  still  be  borne  onward  and  upward  by  the  wings 
of  his  kind  providence.  The  representatives  of  the  people 
were  for  the  moment  awed  into  sobriety,  and  freely  admitted 


that  God  had  taken  from  us  him  on  whom  our  hearts  were 
fixed  in  the  hour  of  peril.  Almost  every  press,  secular  as 
well  as  religious,  responded  to  the  general  sentiment :  surely, 
this  is  the  finger  of  God. 

Never  before,  since  the  organization  of  our  government, 
except  on  a  single  occasion,  had  such  an  event  befallen  us. 
The  brave  and  gentle  Harrison,  of  whom  the  country  enter- 
tained the  most  sanguine  expectations,  and  whose  elevation 
to  the  Presidency  was  hailed  by  a  universal  thrill  of  joy, 
was  called  to  surrender  the  staff  of  office  while  it  was  still  fresh 
in  his  hand.  One  short  month  was  all  that  was  allotted  him 
for  the  occupancy  of  his  high  seat  before  he  was  cast  down 
into  the  dust  of  death.  Hardly  had  the  sound  of  rejoicing 
ceased  at  his  unparalleled  success,  ere  news  reached  us  which 
disappointed  our  fond  hopes,  and  turned  a  nation's  gladness 
into  grief.  This  was  then  a  novel  event  in  the  country's  an- 
nals. But  he  who  looketh  upon  the  mountains  and  they  melt, 
and  who  toucheth  the  hills  and  they  smoke,  has  come  forth 
again  from  his  secret  places  to  break  the  pride  of  our  power. 
For  the  second  time,  since  Washington  occupied  the  great 
chair  of  state,  has  that  chair  been  shrouded  in  the  vesture  of 
the  tomb. 

Ordinary  occurrences,  though  equally  under  the  control  of 
Divine  Providence,  do  not  thus  affect  us.  We  can  see  the 
foliage  of  our  shrubbery  scattered  over  the  ground,  and  the 
limbs  of  our  fruit-trees  twisted  and  broken,  without  any  very 
deep  impression  of  the  force  of  the  wind.  But  not  so  when 
the  mighty  oak,  the  giant  of  the  forest,  is  uprooted  from 
its  hidden  fastnesses,  and  lies  prostrate  on  the  earth.  Here  is 
something  which  tells  us  with  what  majestic  power  the  tem- 
pest moves.  Thus  it  is  in  the  present  instance.  Calamities 
which  are  scarcely  noticed,  when  confined  to  the  humble  and 
obscure,  are  found  to  arouse  attention,  and  awaken  solicitude, 
when  they  crush  the  hopes  of  a  country. 

It  would  seem  as  if  God  had  resolved  that  men,  willing  or 
unwilling,  should  see  and  should  acknowledge  his  uplifted 
hand.  Death  has  of  late  been  riding  on  his  pale  horse  through 
the  capital  of  the  land ;  and  I  need  not  tell  you  how  many 


shining  victims  he  has  selected  among  our  great  men  before  he 
ventured  to  strike  this  last,  this  most  fearful  blow.  No  won- 
der that  levity  puts  on  an  aspect  of  seriousness,  and  that  semi- 
unbelievers  are  compelled  to  admit  that  this  is  the  voice  of  the 
Lord.  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  when  the  reasons  for  thus 
thinking  are  so  obvious  and  striking  ? 

To  be  convinced  of  this,  look  at  the  elevated  position  of  the 
man  who  has  just  been  cut  down  as  the  grass,  and  withered  as 
the  green  herb.  That  such  an  event,  connected  with  exalted 
station  and  commanding  influence,  should  affect  us  more 
deeply  than  a  similar  calamity  in  private  life,  is  agreeable  to 
the  dictates  both  of  reason  and  of  Scripture.  It  is  no  symbol  of 
unmanly  adulation,  nor  cringing  before  honor  and  office,  for 
the  nation  to  bow  its  head  and  weep  at  a  time  like  this.  The 
catastrophe,  stripped  of  its  appendages,  is  indeed  just  such  an 
one  as  is  daily  happening  to  multitudes  of  families  in  the  land. 
It  is  no  new  thing  for  a  husband  to  lie  on  the  bed  of  death,  with 
a  fond  wife  kneeling  in  anguish  at  his  side,  or  for  a  father  to 
call  his  children  in  and  give  them  his  parting  benediction. 
Scenes  of  this  sort  are  familiar  to  the  eye  of  afflicted  humanity 
the  world  over. 

We  have  all  visited  sick  chambers,  and  seen  dying  couches, 
and  walked  in  funeral  processions.  These  are  no  strange 
things  in  a  world  into  which  sin  early  entered,  and  where 
death  has  been  following  in  its  train,  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration. "  The  last  of  earth"  is  reached  in  cottages  as  well  as 
mansions. 

But  in  the  more  retired  walks  of  life,  these  distressing 
incidents  are  confined  to  a  small  circle.  If  the  grief  be 
equally  sincere  and  deep,  it  cannot  be  so  general.  The  hopes 
of  a  family  are  crushed,  and  the  happiness  of  a  domestic 
group  is  destroyed,  but  no  sensation  is  awakened  through  the 
land,  no  shock  is  given  to  the  machinery  of  the  social  system. 
Surrounding  waters  soon  fill  the  cavity  made  by  the  plough- 
ing keel,  and  all  is  level  and  smooth  again.  But  the  case  is 
different  when  death  arrests  one,  on  whom  the  eyes  of 
twenty  millions  of  freemen  are  fixed,  and  who  exerts  an  influ- 
ence for  weal  or  for  woe  over  half  a  continent.  When  such 


a  man  falls,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  we  can  hardly  help 
feeling,  that  in  his  fall  we  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  power- 
ful and  full  of  majesty.  I  trust  in  God  it  may  not  be  a  pre- 
lude to  thunderings  and  lightnings  and  tempests. 

Again,  reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  rare  personal  qualities 
of  the  individual  who  has  thus  disappeared  from  among  men. 
It  is  not  easy  to  give  the  character  of  General  Taylor  in  a 
single  sentence,  but  all  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  access 
to  him  agree  in  the  testimony,  that  he  was  emphatically  one 
of  nature's  noblemen.  There  was  nothing  showy,  nothing 
vapoury,  nothing  pretending  about  him.  Plain  in  his  man- 
ners, honest  and  earnest  in  his  principles,  and  simple  in  the 
workings  of  his  mind,  his  was  very  naturally  the  reputation 
of  an  actor  rather  than  a  talker.  Only  give  him  something 
to  do;  let  difficult  work  be  set  before  him;  place  him  in 
trying  circumstances,  and  he  was  sure  to  equal  the  greatest 
emergency.  Never  did  he  disappoint  the  hopes  of  his  friends 
— never  did  he  fail  to  overmatch  the  efforts  of  his  enemies. 
Washington  was  not  eloquent — Franklin  never  made  a  long 
speech. 

This  man  is  called  a  successful  hero,  and  so  he  was.  But 
what  under  God  made  him  successful  ?  It  was  just  that  com- 
bination of  solid  qualities,  leading  him  to  do  more  than  he 
said,  to  perform  more  than  he  promised,  which  would  have 
fitted  him,  and  did  actually  fit  him,  for  any  position  of  diffi- 
culty and  responsibility.  Half  his  worth  is  not  seen  when  we 
contemplate  him  as  a  star  of  hope  on  the  battle-field.  We 
are  not  permitted  to  pry  into  futurity,  but  time  may  yet  de- 
cide that  his  counsels  in  the  Cabinet  embrace  the  great  prin- 
ciples on  which  the  questions  now  agitating  the  land,  must 
be  settled,  if  settled  at  all.  I  must  say,  the  more  I  study  his 
character  the  more  I  admire  it.  Others  may  excel  him  in 
individual  traits,  but  take  him  as  a  whole,  the  tout  ensemble 
of  the  man,  the  entire  grouping  of  the  parts,  he  stands  second 
only  to  Washington  himself. 

How  illy  could  such  a  man  be  spared  in  this  frivolous, 
wordy,  speech-making  age  ?  We  needed,  at  the  present  crisis, 
just  such  a  pilot  at  the  helm,  one  who  could  keep  quiet  while 


8 

others  made  a  noise,  and  whose  silent,  calm,  and  self-reliant 
course,  should  be  a  perpetual  rebuke  to  the  everlasting  talkers 
of  the  day.  Chosen  to  his  high  office  for  valuable,  more  than 
for  shining  qualities,  he  went  steadfastly  on  to  the  very  last. 
The  crowning  trait  of  his  character  was  good  common  sense — 
not  common  because  so  many  possess  it,  or  because  we  see  it 
so  commonly  exercised — but  common  because  it  applies  to 
ordinary  trials  and  duties.  This  he  had,  and  it  fitted  him  to 
run  his  noble  race.  This  raised  him  above  his  compeers, 
and  fixed  his  seat  as  chief  among  the  mighty.  That  a  man 
so  gifted  of  God,  and  so  qualified  to  be  useful,  should  be  thus 
smitten  down  with  all  his  blushing  honors  thick  upon  him,  is 
for  a  lamentation,  and  shall  be  for  a  lamentation.  If  there  is 
no  voice  of  the  Lord  here,  he  never  speaks  to  men. 

Then  consider,  too,  that  Taylor  has  died  at  the  very  junc- 
ture when  his  presence  and  the  power  of  his  fair  name  seem  to 
be  most  needed.  It  is  no  business  of  mine,  be  assured,  to  sound 
an  unnecessary  alarm  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  and  the  man 
who  does  it  for  selfish  and  sectional  purposes,  ought  to  be  re- 
garded as  traitorous  to  his  country's  welfare.  Still  it  is  im- 
possible to  shut  our  eyes  upon  the  fact,  that  we  have  arrived 
at  a  critical  point  in  the  history  of  the  nation.  Never  have 
the  clouds  gathered  over  our  heads  more  portentously,  and 
never  have  the  hearts  of  the  people  been  more  fearfully  agi- 
tated. In  such  a  day  who  can  say  how  much  the  prestige 
of  the  well-earned  laurels  of  the  brave  General  might  have 
stood  us  in  stead,  as  well  as  the  cool  sagacity  and  clear-sighted 
perceptions  of  the  beloved  man  ?  We  all  felt  that  while  one 
so  honest,  so  upright,  and  so  fearless,  was  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  threats  of  disunion  were  very  likely  to  prove  as  idle 
tales.  His  very  name  was  a  tower  of  strength.  His  strong 
hand  would  have  struck  down  any  party  flag. 

The  principle  of  rewarding  military  exploits  with  civil 
and  political  honors,  is  perhaps  never  a  sound,  or  a  safe  one. 
Yet  cases  may  occur  in  which  courage  and  good  generalship 
on  the  battle-field,  shall  turn  the  attention  of  the  nation  to  a 
man  who  possesses  every  requisite  for  high  station  in  the 
Government,  and  whose  strong  qualities,  matured  and  de- 


veloped  in  a  former  line  of  things,  shall  now  be  turned  to  a 
still  more  exalted  purpose.  What  the  keen  eye  and  firm 
arm  of  such  a  one  might  be  worth,  none  can  tell. 

Alas,  that  it  should  have  pleased  the  Euler  of  the  Uni- 
verse to  select  such  a  moment  for  the  striking  of  such  a 
stroke!  We  needed  now  more  than  ever  before  the  tried 
integrity,  the  immovable  self-possession,  and  the  unshaken 
resolve  of  just  this  man  to  steady  the  ship  of  state,  and  guide 
her  into  quiet  waters.  And  to  see  the  staff  on  which  we 
leaned  thus  suddenly  broken,  is  surely  adapted  to  open  our 
ears  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord.  Happy,  thrice  happy,  will  it 
be  if,  in  the  loss  of  human  help  and  confidence,  we  are  only 
the  more  led  to  make  the  Most  High  our  refuge  and  strength. 
Thus  improved,  the  recent  dispensation — though  not  joyous 
for  the  present,  but  grievous — will  be  sure  to  work  out  for  us 
the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  This  opens  the  way  to 
inquire, 

II.  What  special  lessons  this  voice  of  the  Lord  was  intended  to 
give  and  enforce  ? 

That  there  is  a  deep  meaning  in  the  event,  just  happened, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  I  pretend  not  to  predict  its  influence 
on  the  adjustment  of  those  questions,  which  have  now  for 
months  been  shaking  the  nation,  like  the  leaves  of  the 
forest.  On  a  point  like  this,  it  hardly  belongs  to  the  speaker 
to  hazard  a  conjecture.  It  will  be  allowed  him,  however,  to 
express  the  hope,  which  has  never  entirely  deserted  his 
bosom,  that  by  the  blessing  of  God,  all  will  come  out  right  at 
last.  This  land,  I  fondly  trust,  is  destined  to  be  a  beacon-light 
to  a  bestormed  and  bewildered  world,  for  ages  to  come. 

It  is  encouraging  to  turn  to  one  delightful  fact,  which 
serves'  to  show  how  deeply  the  love  of  our  institutions  is 
imbedded  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people.  In  an 
hour  of  intense  political  agitation,  the  President  dies,  and 
the  news  sounds  out  into  all  the  land,  that  the  chair  of 
State  is  vacant;  but  there  is  no  commotion,  no  rising  to 
obstruct  the  wheels  of  government,  no  note  of  treason  to 
the  working  of  the  Constitution.  Business  goes  on  as  before. 
Stocks  maintain  their  price.  If  any  thing  can  attach  us  to 


10 

the  land  in  which  our  lot  is  cast,  and  inspire  us  with  a 
feeling  of  security,  under  the  aegis  of  liberty  here  spread 
out,  it  is  a  sublime  spectacle  like  this.  Where  besides  could 
power  change  hands  so  quietly,  and  with  so  little  excitement  ? 

The  language  of  my  heart,  I  must  say,  is, — My  country, 
with  all  thy  faults,  I  love  thee  still.  Not  only  as  an  American 
citizen,  but  as  a  philanthropist  and  a  Christian,  I  will  seek 
thy  good.  For  my  brethren  and  my  companions'  sakes,  I 
will  yet  say,  peace  be  within  thee.  If  I  forget  thee,  O  land 
of  my  fathers'  sepulchres,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her 
cunning,  and  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth, 
if  I  prefer  not  thy  welfare  to  my  chief  joy.  Still  the  late 
Providence  is  full  of  admonitory  lessons. 

We  ought  to  regard  it,  it  strikes  me,  as  a  timely  and  severe 
rebuke  on  the  party  spirit  of  the  country.  It  might  have  been 
supposed,  that  such  a  man  as  Taylor,  coming  into  office  by 
the  unsolicited  favor  of  the  people,  and  carrying  himself  so 
quietly  and  unoffendingly,  would  have  been  permitted  to 
pass  along  untouched  of  scandal.  But  knowing  what  we  do 
of  poor  human  nature — this  was  too  much  to  expect.  The 
bloody  Moloch  must  have  victims,  and  the  nobler  the  better. 
No  purity  of  private  character,  no  splendor  of  public  service, 
no  urbanity  of  social  intercourse,  and  no  wisdom  of  general 
measures,  could  shield  the  head  of  the  venerable  man,  and 
save  him  from  the  pang  of  bitter  opposition.  It  was  not 
enough  that  he  had  no  enemies  to  punish,  and  no  friends  to 
reward.  He  must  drink  his  share  of  the  same  bitter  cup, 
which  is  put  to  the  lips  of  all  who  prefer  public  usefulness  to 
private  ease. 

Mistake  me  not.  I  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that,  "  the 
price  of  liberty  is  eternal  vigilance."  Every  man,  even  the 
humblest  in  the  land,  has  a  perfect  right  to  scan  the  measures 
of  the  Administration,  and  to  utter  his  objections,  if  he  has 
any,  in  clear  and  distinct  tones ;  but  never  is  he  to  forget  that 
government  is  of  God,  and  that  those  who  conduct  it  are 
God's  ministers.  To  oppose  the  chief  magistrate,  simply 
because  he  was  not  the  man  of  our  choice,  and  to  wage 
relentless  war  against  him  for  no  better  reason  than  that 


11 

we  should  have  preferred  another,  is  baseness  itself.  An 
American  citizen  ought  to  blush  at  such  a  course.  And  yet, 
who  does  not  know  that  the  efforts  of  multitudes,  both  in 
Congress  and  out  of  it,  to  clog  the  wheels  of  Government,  and 
harass  the  Executive  of  the  nation,  have  their  origin  in  no 
better  motive  than  this  ? 

No  wonder  that  crowns  of  earthly  glory,  so  generally 
prove  to  be  crowns  of  thorns. 

This,  if  I  misjudge  not,  is  the  giant  sin  of  the  land,  and 
God  is  here  rebuking  it  in  tones  of  thunder.  Oh,  it  were 
easier,  a  thousand  times  easier,  for  a  man  of  brave  heart,  and 
firm  resolve,  to  stand  unmoved  on  the  battle-plains  of  Mexico, 
than  be  surrounded  with  the  brightest  civic  honors,  and  at 
the  same  time  find  his  measures  opposed,  and  his  best  efforts 
to  uphold  the  Constitution  of  the  country,  set  at  nought.  One 
is  the  severe  pelting  of  an  hour's  storm — the  other,  the  driz- 
zling of  a  tedious  day. 

How  impressively,  too,  does  this  event  exhibit  the  folly  of 
trusting  in  man,  and  making  flesh  our  arm  ?  A  voice  issues 
from  that  spacious  East  room,  now  hung  in  mourning,  and 
filled  with  weepers ;  crying  in  the  ears  of  the  nation — "  Cease 
ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils,  for  wherein  is  he 
to  be  accounted  of."  There  stands  the  hero  of  many  a  well 
fought  field,  bending  over  his  old  companion  in  arms,  and 
thinking  of  an  enemy  who  triumphs  over  all  military  prowess, 
and  laughs  at  the  edge  of  the  sword.  Great  men  and  honor- 
able men  are  there ;  sage  counsellors,  and  eloquent  orators, 
officers  of  State,  and  ambassadors  from  other  lands,  all 
gathered  to  witness  the  triumphs  of  the  destroyer,  and  to 
testify  their  respect  by  silence  and  sorrow.  The  coffin,  the 
shroud,  and  the  funeral  pall,  affix  the  mark  of  vanity  to 
human  distinctions  every  where,  but  they  do  it  with  a  sort  of 
emphasis,  in  the  dwelling  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  mighty 
nation.  While  we  looked  for  good,. behold  evil  came  down, 
even  unto  the  gates  of  Jerusalem. 

Shall  we  ever  again  hang  the  glory  and  safety  of  our 
beloved  country,  upon  the  frail  arm  of  man  ?  We  learn  from 
the  black  lines,  which  separate  the  columns  of  every  news- 


12 

paper — the  tolling  bells  of  every  town  and  village,  and  the 
traces  of  thought  and  solicitude  drawn  on  every  individual 
countenance,  that  a  great  man  has  fallen.  How  suddenly  are 
mansions  of  joy  turned  into  abodes  of  sadness,  and  halls  of 
mirth  filled  with  lamentation !  This  was  death's  demonstra- 
tion of  human  impotence,  made  by  stalking  in  triumph  over 
the  pride  and  confidence  of  an  afflicted  nation. '  Scenes  like 
these  give  force  to  the  declarations  of  Holy  Writ.  Happy  is 
he  that  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  and  whose  hope  is 
in  the  Lord  his  God,  that  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  by  his 
strength  setteth  fast  the  mountains,  being  girded  with  power. 
It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence  in  man, 
yea,  it  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  confidence  in 
princes. 

The  successful  military  chieftain  and  the  high  civil  func- 
tionary, are  akin  to  ourselves  in  all  the  sensibilities  of  a 
common  nature,  and  all  the  frailty  of  a  common  inheritance. 
Where  is  the  waving  plume  now,  and  the  prancing  steed,  and 
the  stern  word  of  command  ?  Where  now  is  the  patronage 
of  power,  and  the  petition  of  the  office-seeker,  and  the  recep- 
tion of  foreign  embassies  ?  Death  has  passed  along,  and  with 
a  single  touch  of  his  mighty  hand  has  turned  the  brightness 
of  all  this  glory  into  the  gloom  of  the  grave. 

We  have  then  only  to  say  farther — how  loudly  does  this 
event  proclaim  the  folly  of  human  ambition.  In  five  short  days 
we  see  a  man  who  had  attained  the  very  summit  of  earthly 
renown,  with  a  fame  as  wide  as  the  civilized  world,  and  the 
fair  prospect  of  years  to  come,  reduced  to  the  weakness  of  an 
infant  and  brought  down  to  the  shades  of  death.  Ah — where 
is  all  that  which  we  call  grandeur,  and  power,  and  glory, 
now  ?  We  look  about  us,  as  the  immense  crowd  moves  slowly 
on ;  but  instead  of  shouts  of  joy,  we  listen  to  the  funeral 
dirge ;  and  in  place  of  merriment  and  gayety,  we  behold  the 
bier  and  the  urn.  Is  this  all  that  is  left  of  the  honor  which 
cometh  from  man  only  ?  Must  the  brave  Taylor  sicken  and 
die ;  and  his  wife  be  made  a  widow ;  and  his  children  father- 
less, like  the  humblest  and  poorest  of  us  all  ? 

I  must  say,  that  nothing  has  seemed  to  me  to  pour  such 


13 

contempt  on  the  brightest  visions  of  earthly  glory,  as  to  read 
of  these  bitter  tears,  and  this  heartfelt  sorrow,  in  the  palace 
of  the  nation.  The  soul,  true  to  its  native  instincts,  quails  and 
trembles  in  mansions  as  well  as  in  cottages.  Conventional  forms 
must  now  give  place  to  life's  stern  realities ;  and  high  official 
men  be  beckoned  from  the  bedside  to  make  room  for  the  weep- 
ing wife,  and  let  the  children  in  to  get  their  father's  blessing. 
This  gives  it  the  character  of  an  ordinary  domestic  visitation. 
We  return  from  the  contemplation  of  such  a  scene,  more 
deeply  convinced  than  ever,  that  the  brightest  honors  of  this 
world  are  as  nothing,  when  compared  with  that  glory  which 
a  man  can  carry  with  him  into  eternity. 

0,  when  shall  we  learn  that  there  are  better  and  more 
enduring  blessings,  than  can  be  won  by  valor,  or  purchased 
by  talent  ?  There  are  moments  common  to  us  all,  when  we 
are  forced  to  admit,  that  the  Gospel  and  the  Christian's  hope 
are  the  only  possessions  of  permanent  value.  The  wants  of 
the  stricken  bosom  cannot  be  met,  even  in  the  high  places  of 
the  land,  without  bringing  in  the  Bible  and  calling  for  the 
ministers  of  religion,  and  listening  to  the  words  of  eternal  life. 
Rich  and  poor  come  together  here  as  possessors  of  a  common 
nature,  and  subject  to  a  common  destiny.  The  most  power- 
ful ruler  that  ever  swayed  a  sceptre,  needs  to  hear  of  Jesus 
and  the  resurrection,  on  the  bed  of  death,  just  as  much  as 
does  the  humblest  individual  in  his  empire.  All  are  involved 
alike  in  the  effects  of  the  apostasy,  and  all  must  participate 
alike  in  the  benefits  of  redemption. 

But  I  forbear.  We  have  been  listening  to  that  voice 
which  breaketh  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  and  shaketh  the  wil- 
derness of  Kadish,  and  find  that  it  inculcates  upon  us,  as 
individuals  and  as  a  nation,  lessons  of  the  deepest  interest. 
If  any  man  have  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 

Every  thing,  as  it  respects  the  obsequies  of  the  illustrious 
dead,  has  been  wisely  and  considerately  done.  Distinguished 
men,  both  in  Congress  and  out  of  it,  have  vied  with  each 
other  in  depicting  his  high  character ;  and  the  nation  at  large 
has  been  prompt  to  pay  the  proper  homage  to  his  memory. 
So  far  all  is  well.  But  what  we  should  desire,  above  every 


304825 


14 

thing  besides,  is  that  the  death  of  our  beloved  President  may 
be  followed  with  an  increase  of  harmony  in  our  national 
councils,  and  an  increase  of  dispatch  in  our  public  business. 
If  this  shall  be  the  happy  result,  the  boon  is  not  purchased  at 
too  dear  a  rate.  The  life  of  no  man  in  the  land  is  for  a  mo- 
ment to  be  compared  with  the  prosperity  and  perpetuity  of 
our  glorious  Union,  indivisible  and  for  ever.  Let  it  be  our 
earnest  prayer,  that  this  event  may  tend  to  close  the  opening 
chasm,  and  smooth  our  way  onward. 

We  could  afford  to  part  with  the  honest  and  venerated 
Taylor,  highly  as  we  prized  him,  and  dear  as  he  was  to  the 
hearts  of  thousands,  were  his  death  to  be  made  the  means  of 
hushing  the  elements  of  political  discord,  and  bringing  the 
North  and  South — as  in  the  younger  days  of  the  republic — to 
feel  that  they  are  brethren.  Alas,  here  is  our  chief  danger. 
I  shall  hardly  be  accused  of  any  such  speaking  evil  of  digni- 
ties, as  the  Bible  condemns,  if  I  say  that  what  we  want  now, 
is  a  certain  largeness  of  heart,  which  would  lead  our  public 
men  to  forget  neighborhood,  and  section,  and  party,  and 
legislate  for  the  entire  land.  Our  history  hitherto  has  been 
one  of  compromise  and  concession.  So  it  must  continue,  if 
we  would  not  have  its  latter  pages  written  in  blood.  That 
man  will  live  in  the  remembrance  of  a  grateful  nation,  who 
is  willing,  at  the  present  crisis,  to  risk  his  reputation,  and 
grieve  his  friends,  and  go  against  his  party,  and  lose  his 
place — if  he  may  but  consolidate  the  union  of  these  happy 
States. 

How  will  such  a  name  stand  on  the  historic  page  when 
contrasted  with  that  of  the  reckless  disunionist?  0,  if  come 
the  sad  hour  ever  must,  when  this  glorious  confederacy  shall 
be  broken  into  atoms,  and  this  lone  star  of  the  world's  hope 
shall  be  shrouded  in  darkness,  we  will  hold  to  a  fearful  account- 
ability one  single  man  who  dares  to  perpetrate  the  suicidal 
deed.  Posterity  will  call  that  man  a  second  Arnold,  and  will 
affix  to  him  an  ignominious  memorial. 

But  I  hope  better  things,  though  I  thus  speak.  When  I 
think  of  the  early  providential  settlement  of  this  country — 
when  I  trace  the  numerous  tokens  of  God's  favor  to  us  in  an 


15 

infant  state — when  I  consider  the  elevated  position  which  it 
has  been  given  to  this  land  to  hold  in  the  great  benevolent 
movements  of  the  age — and  especially  when  I  advert  to  the 
fact  that  there  are  so  many  Noahs,  Jobs,  and  Daniels,  scattered 
through  these  valleys  and  over  these  hills,  I  cannot  but  hope 
that  God  has  rich  mercies  in  store  for  us  yet.  We  may  be 
chastised  for  our  sins,  but  we  shall  not  be  cut  off  for  ever. 

Christian  citizens !  much  depends  on  you.  Give  no  coun- 
tenance to  the  suspicion  that  your  place  in  the  house  of  God, 
and  your  hopes  for  the  world  to  come,  are  operating  to  render 
you  indifferent  to  your  country's  welfare.  Show,  by  your 
active  efforts  to  elevate  good  men  and  true,  and  by  your  cheer- 
ful submission  to  the  powers  that  be,  that  you  love  the  land 
of  your  fathers'  sepulchres.  Above  all,  daily  carry  the  pros- 
perity of  these  United  States  with  you  to  the  mercy-seat,  and 
intercede  for  blessings  on  their  behalf  which  shall  reach  to  the 
utmost  bounds  of  the  everlasting  hills. 

I  suggest  only  one  thing  more.  Taylor  is  gone,  and  his 
place  is  filled  by  a  man  who  comes  into  it  by  the  providence 
of  God,  rather  than  by  the  direct  act  of  the  people.  On  this  ac- 
count he  all  the  more  needs  your  sympathy  and  your  aid.  Eal- 
ly  round  him  from  the  very  first,  and  give  to  every  sound  mea- 
sure he  proposes  a  cheerful  and  warm-hearted  support.  Eaised 
up  himself  from  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  and  rocked  in  his 
early  days  in  a  rough  cradle,  he  comes  before  us  emphatically 
as  a  man  of  the  people.  Let  him  have  a  fair  trial. 

We  cannot  better  close  than  by  adopting,  with  slight  vari- 
ations, the  language  of  a  great  and  good  man,  on  a  somewhat 
similar  occasion.  Though  under  the  mournful  remembrance 
of  our  departed  President,  we  cannot  but  feel,  at  this  season 
of  many  tears,  as  if  a  volley  of  lightning  had  been  shot  at  the 
pillar  of  our  Kepublic,  yet  if  we  strengthen  its  foundation  in 
the  principles  and  character  of  the  people,  the  pillar  will  stand 
on  the  deep  and  steady  basis  of  a  country's  virtue,  and  can 
never  be  overthrown.  Thus  an  enduring  memorial  of  the  la- 
mented man  will  be  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and 
permanent  good  will  emerge  out  of  this  dark  and  bitter  dis- 
pensation. 


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